Amosun reduces school fees in all Ogun tertiary institutions

The Ogun State Government on Tuesday announced the reduction of school fees in all its tertiary institutions. This was made known at a press conference addressed by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Segun Odubela, at the Governor’s Office Press Centre in Abeokuta. Mr. Odubela, accompanied by the Commissioner of Information, Yusuph Olaniyonu, explained that in the new school fees regime, which will take effect from the 2014/2015 academic session, students will pay up to 61 per cent less than they are currently paying. He said some students will pay as low as N29,700. He said the reduction was arrived at after extensive deliberation between the government, leadership of the various Students’ Unions and heads of the institutions. The commissioner also announced the abolishment the indigene/non-indigene dichotomy, saying students offering the same course, at the same level will pay the same fees. The Commissioner said that medical students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, who are currently paying N301,610 will now pay N176,596, representing a 41.4 per cent reduction. Students of the Faculty of Arts in the same university will be paying N81,112 instead of the current fee of N126,540, a 35.9 per cent reduction. In the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, the school fees has been reduced from N71,300 to N40,000 for Higher National Diploma, HND, while the Ordinary National Diploma, OND, students will now pay N22,300. Students of Tai Solarin University of Education, TASUED, will enjoy a reduction from N103,435 for the first year students to N75,000, representing 27.5 per cent reduction, while returning students who are paying N93,465 will now pay N65,000, representing 30.4 per cent reduction. Higher National Diploma, HND, students of Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, who are currently paying N118,000 will now pay N46,000, a reduction of 61 per cent. The reduction of fees will also apply to the other three Institutes of Technology owned by the state government. The Commissioner said the state government donated 13 buses to the Students’ Unions of all State and Federal Institutions in the state, including the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Ogun State Chapter. He assured that government would always protect the interest of the students as they are future leaders of the nation. The slash in school fees by the Ibikunle Amosun led Ogun State government is coming barely a week after his Lagos State counterpart, Babatunde Fashola, announced a reversal of the hike in tuition fees for the Lagos State University, LASU.